In life, there will be people who will tell you that your dreams are not worth pursuing. They will tell you personal accounts about opportunities that never come along, about having the worst luck in the universe and the fact that nothing can be done about this. But then again, in life, there are also people like Dr. Modesto T. Chua, a person who ignores what others have to say and focuses on achieving his goals. A philosopher, a chemist, a fluent German speaker, Dr. Modesto T. Chua is an outstanding example of what a scientist out to be—hardworking, professional, and of course, devoted to excellence.

Dr. Chua graduated magna cum laude from the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) in 1957. He majored in philosophy, but after taking a crash course in German, decided to pursue chemistry studies in Germany.

In 1965, after graduating with honors and receiving his degree in physical organic chemistry from the University of Bonn in Germany, Dr. Chua joined the ADMU’s department of chemistry. He was the reason actually the superior force, behind the establishment of the Philippine Institute of Pure and Applied Chemistry (PIPAC) IN LATE 1972. Dr. Chua’s efforts led to the conduction of several studies that specifically focused on molecular structure-activity correlation research. It should be noted that it was Dr. Chua’s work that “enabled pharmaceutical chemists to design drugs and other substances for specific applications.”

Dr. Chua is also well known for his work as a consultant for United Drug Laboratories, the Beecham Group Ltd., and in the Agro-Industrial Projects of the Manila Banking Corporation. He continues to teach chemistry at the ADMU, stating that “sound science is all about forming mind . . . hard work and careful thinking based on facts.”